Catch Of The Day: Fantastic Seafood Recipes

Lobster Curry Pasta Paella

Serves 2-4 people

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of Cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon of mustard seed
  • 1 large red onion (finely diced)
  • 3 jalapeños (de-seeded and finely diced)
  • 1 hand full of ginger (peeled and grated in a cheese grater)
  • 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 1 can (14oz or 2 smaller cans) of diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
  • 1 can (around 13oz) of coconut milk 
  •  Be sure to shake the can when you buy it.  If you don’t hear liquid inside, get another can.
  • 2 Spiny lobster tails (split in half lengthwise) dusted with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 10 whole Muscles
  • 10 whole clams
  • 10 med. sized shrimp (de-veined and de-shelled) Dusted with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 2 bunches of cilantro (finely chopped) *half will be used for garnish after the meal is plated
  • Fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • Served over fresh Linguini pasta or Brown rice 

Cooking instructions:

In a large frying pan, combine the seeds and olive oil, heat but do not burn the seeds on a med/hi burner.  Add the onion and jalapeño’s cook for 3 min season with kosher salt and fresh pepper.  Then add the ginger and garlic and cook until the onion jalapeño mixture is almost caramelized (salt and pepper to taste).  Scoop in the can of tomato paste and mix until it is all combined.  Then pour the can of diced tomatoes over the top and reduce the liquid to half.  When the liquid is reduced, pour in the can of coconut milk until you reach the desired “spicy heat” and reduce down about ¼ (at this point reduce the heat to med).   Once you’ve reduced the liquid, kick the heat back up to hi and Add the Lobster first, then shrimp and finally the shellfish, cook for 1 min uncovered and 2 min covered.  You’ll know the seafood is cooked when you see the clams and muscles open and the lobster has completely turned a bold red (careful not to over cook).  Then add half of the chopped cilantro and mix.  Remove from heat and serve over a bed of rice with warm bread.

*If serving over “al dente” pasta, heat a sauce pan over med/ high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil  add the sauce to the pan and finish cooking the noodles in the sauce.  Immediately move sauce  and noodles to plate, add the seafood and lobster and garnish using the left over cilantro and top with fresh grated parmesan cheese. 

  • This can be served on a plate or in a sourdough bread bowl.  Sourdough is always a good side with this dish.
  • Recommended wine: serve with a bold chardonnay like a Rombauer or a soft pinot.  Full bodied light wines will help offset the boldness of the curry.  

Tropical Fresh Ceviche

Put all these in a bowl and in the fridge for 21/2 to 3 hours:

  •  10 to 12 ounces of wahoo diced up (will work great with just about any white fish).
  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  •  3 or 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
  •  3 or 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed pineapple juice
  • 2 to 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced red onion
  • 2 Serrano chile peppers de-seeded and finely diced
  • 4 tablespoons finely diced mixed red and yellow bell pepper

To Finish, mix with this before serving:

  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 1 solid turn around the bowl (about a tablespoon) of olive oil 1 good pinch of kosher salt
  • Banana chips to garnish and eat with
  • Lime wedges, for the glass or dish.
  • Present like the picture below and Enjoy!!!

Jasper White’s Baked Stuffed Lobster

No sense reinventing the wheel here. Jasper white nailed it back in the 70‘s (I believe) in his book “Cooking Lobster At Home.” This is by far the richest most amazing lobster you’ll ever have. Lets start by preheating our oven to 425 deg.

Ingredients:

  • 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (3 melted for brushing on the lobster) 1 med (white) onion finely diced.
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh tarragon leaves coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of Italian parsley coarsely chopped
  • 2 oz of raw pealed shrimp cut into 1/2” pieces 2 oz of raw scallops cut into 1/2” pieces
  • 2 oz of crab meat (canned crab works fine) Salt and Pepper
  • 2 live lobsters
  • 1/4 cup of crumbled dried corn bread
  • Melt 8 tablespoons of butter in a pan over med/hi heat and add onions. Season with salt and pepper. until soft (don’t brown). Stir in tarragon and parsley and add sea food.
  • eason with salt and pepper and cook for another min. Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Mix in the cornbread  With a knife split the lobsters in half lengthwise (butterfly).
  • Discard sack and intestine. place tomalley and roe in the mixture above. If your lobster has claws split them with hammer or back of your chef knife.
  • Brush with butter.
  • Divide the mixture between the lobster ( don’t stuff too tightly or it’ll affect the cooking of the lobster) Cook until the lobster is red and the stuffing is crispy and golden (about20-24min).

Spicy Caesar Avocado Dressing/Topping

Ok, ok… I know. The above pic is steak, but I did that on purpose. This dressing can go with just about any protein and is amazing as a play on Caesar salad or poured on top of any Seared fish…. ideally with our cajun seasoning. Our favorite fish to sear and blacken with this is: Yellow or blue fin tuna, salmon or even yellow tail. Also if you’re like me, and enjoy fresh fish with salads like you see above, it’s the perfect combo.

Ingredients:

  • 4 anchovies
  • 2 egg yokes
  • 2 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cloves of peeled garlic
  • 1/2 of a lemon juiced
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil (can use half olive oil and half canola oil too) 1/4 cup of grated
  • armesan cheese
  • 1 bunch or cilantro
  • 2 Jalepeno peppers de-seeded
  • 1 Avocado
  • Pinch of salt
  • Combine and all but the oil in the blender and blend until smooth.
  • Next drizzle in the oil until you reach your desired thickness (very thick is ok and great to apply in a squeeze bottle for presentation)

Surf and Turf!

Brown Butter Split Tail Lobster &

BBQ Chimichurri Steak

Here is a tasty easy way to make lobster. I recommend making it with salad and couscous, or doing surf and turf with the steak of your choosing. Below you’ll find a great chimichurri steak recipe. Important: When catching lobster, either eat them right away or detach the tails before you freeze…. DON’T FREEZE A LOBSTER WHOLE! you’ll ruin the meat.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Lobsters tails split lengthwise.
  • 1 teaspoon of tarragon and 1 teaspoon of Italian parsley finely chopped.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • 1 whole bunch of Garlic (6 0r 7 cloves) finely diced (1/4 cup of diced onion or 1 shallot diced optional even a splash of white wine… fun to play with).
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter.
  • Melt butter over med, add garlic and cook for about a min on med high heat stirring. Then place lobster, meat side down, in the butter/ garlic and reduce heat to med. Cook until they begin to turn red then flip and add the spices and finish cooking on the reverse side of the shell. Save the pan butter (it should be brown… that’s normal) and use it for dipping. Not healthy but tasty.

 

BBQ Chimichurri Steak / Combine Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup of olive oil.
  • 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar.
  • 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.
  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
  • 3 teaspoons of minced garlic.
  • 1/4 teaspoons of red pepper flakes.
  • salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pat Dry standard thickness Steak.
  • Season with kosher salt and pepper.
  • Place your steak over high heat on the BBQ and close the lid.
  • Don’t touch for 5 min.
  • Flip the steak and close.
  • wait 2 min.
  • Then open the BBQ and cover the top of the steak with the above sauce.
  • Finish cooking another 3 min.
  • Remove, cover and don’t touch for 5 min. Now serve it with your lobster.
  • It’ll be med rare. add onemin on each side for more “med” cooking.

BLACKENED SEASONING

There are many ways to prepare fish, but “Cajun Style” is probably one of our favorites and the favorites of many restaurants as well. From fancy lobster to Opal eye you can’t go wrong. You can use an “o the shelf” seasoning, but our fresh recipe will have your friends saying, “… that tastes like some more!”
The wonderful things about blackened seasoning is that, it’s hard to mess up and you can make a bunch, store in an air tight container and you’ll be good to go for next time!

 

  • 1/2 tablespoon: Cayenne Pepper
  • Tablespoon of each: -Curry powder -Cumin-Chili powder -Salt-Pepper -Granulated Garlic -Thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons: -Paprika -oregano
  • 4 Tablespoons: -Italian Style bread crumbs
  • Mix Together in a bag.
  • Then cover fish front and back and sear in a smoking hot pan with olive oil or neutral oil for 1 to 2 min on each side depending on fish thickness (if you see the fish start to curl on the Opal eye, don’t worry it just does that).
  • Once removed from heat, place on a covered plate for 5 min to let rest and juice to redistribute through out the meat.
  • Now you’re ready to serve with the toppings you enjoy

Lets Make Tacos!

We all love fish tacos and there’s really no right or wrong way to do them. That said, tacos go from good to AMAZING! by adding some tasty sides and toppings. These are our favorites:
The Taco Sauce:

  • Thousand Island and Pico Pica Taco Sauce (mild)
  • Mix to your desired level of spiciness. I like one bottle of Pico Pica to a 3/4 of a 16 oz Ken’s Thousand island dressing
  • This also goes great as a stripe on top of any blackened fish or taco salad.

The Ultimate Guacamole

  • 3 large avocados diced
  • 1/2 of a purple onion diced
  • 1 Lime juiced
  • 2 Roma Tomatoes
  • 3 Tomatillos grilled and diced
  • 1 Bunch of cilantro diced
  • 1 Clove of garlic diced
  • 1 Tablespoon of White wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoons of each:
    -Salt
    -Cumin
    -Cayenne pepper
  • Mix together in a bowl and let sit for an hour before serving. Goes great with the sauce above

Pico De Gringo (It received this nick name when I made it for my latin friend)

  • 1/2 purple onion diced
  • 1 bunch of cilantro diced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes diced
  • 1 Jalepeno diced
  • Salt and Pepper to taste Tablespoon of white wine vinegar (Diced avocado optional)

Poblano Chile Salsa

  • 4 poblano chilies (grilled to a black char then char scraped o then diced) 1 large purple
  • nion grilled and diced
  • 1 Lime grilled and juiced into the mixing bowl
  • 1 bunch of cilantro diced
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar Salt and Pepper to taste

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 2 mangos finely chopped
  • 2 bell peppers finely chopped
  • 1 med red onion finely chopped
  • 2 avocados diced
  • 3 green onions finely diced
  • 2 bunches of cilantro finely diced (Salt and pepper to taste is optional)
  • Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Serve over/under fish or on tacos

Macadamia Crusted Halibut with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups of Macadamia Nuts, roughly chopped in a food processor
  • 1 Cup of Italian Style Bread Crumbs
  • 1/2 Cup of Light Brown Sugar
  • 2 Pounds of Halibut (or any white fish i.e. Sea Bass, Mahi-Mahi)
  • 2 Large Egg Whites
  • 4 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • -Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees-
  • Combine the first three ingredients. Lay four pieces of fish on a clean work surface.
  • Lightly dust each piece of fish with salt and pepper. Dip the fish in the egg whites and press it firmly into the Macadamia mixture.
  • Heat a large sauté pan coated with the oil to medium/ high heat. Place the fish in the pan and sear on both sides until golden brown (About 2 min on each side). Then place the fish into an oven safe dish and put in the oven for about 8 to 10 min.
  • Pineapple Mango Salsa
  • 1/3 Cup of Pineapple
  • 1/3 Cup of Mango, Diced
  • 1/3 Cup of Papaya, Diced
  • 1 Tablespoon of Jalapeño Peppers, finely diced
  • 2 Limes juiced
  • 1/4 Cup of Red Onions, Finely Chopped
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and serve over the fish.

Serve this dish with rice pilaf, the salsa and the fish. Using chopped parsley to garnish.